Refusing To Sit Idle: Scout Duty Helps Heal Marine's Wound
By Sean Ely

The Scout Barracks houses troops that come each week to Fort Mackinac as the governor's honor guards. From left are Ryan Erickson, in his eighth year, Toby Hamann, fifth year, Nick Henry, eighth year, and fourth year Jacob Steele. They are awaiting daily inspection June 5.

Twenty-year-old Nick Henry was shot in the arm by a sniper in Iraq earlier this year. But if you suggested he stay home, relax, and enjoy the summer watching television, he would shake his head. This Marine lives for dedication and patriotism, not TV dinners and Wheel of Fortune.

So the Reed City native came to Mackinac Island June 3 for a week at the State Park's Scout Barracks with troops 74 and 114, Boy Scouts he has served with since age 12.

"I came up here as a scout for eight years," Mr. Henry said. "I love coming up here and doing the work and seeing these kids grow up. Most of the kids were so small when I first met them when I started coming here. It's great to come back and see them all again. This is more enjoyable than sitting at home after everything that happened; it's a great vacation, too. It gets me away from everything. Back home, there is just so much stuff going on, every day I have something to do. I like doing this a lot."

When on duty with the scout honor guard, Mr. Henry is a commander for the flags at the South Sally Port, the entrance overlooking Marquette Park. He marches the younger scouts down there, both in the mornings and in the evenings. He helps serve lunch, clean up, and helps the patrols with their service projects. He even helps them clean their upstairs living area before it is examined for inspection.

Mr. Henry has been in the Marine Corps since December 2005. He was flown to Iraq late last year, where he found himself in the western part of Fallujah, where he controlled traffic. On March 16, he was shot in the arm from a sniper in a mosque. American troops were not allowed to return fire toward the Muslim place of worship.

"We controlled all the traffic, we patrolled daily and nightly, we had to stay on post, and we searched for ID's," Mr. Henry said. "When I was shot, the bullet hit my ulna bone, ulnar nerve, and artery. I had to have bypass surgery so that I didn't bleed to death. I still have shrapnel in my side that the doctors are not taking out. They treated me for shock and I went into it for a little bit, but they stuck an IV in my arm right there on the spot, because that's all they could really do. They put pressure on the wound, to keep it from bleeding too much, and then it was a 45- minute drive to the next military hospital through the city, which was extremely dangerous."

Mr. Henry was treated for several days at a hospital in Fallujah before being flown by helicopter to a city north of Baghdad. After a few more days in that hospital, he was transported to Germany, where he underwent surgery for more than a week. He underwent another month of surgery at Bethesda,, Maryland.

Although living conditions weren't very good, Mr. Henry is sorry he had to leave Iraq because he left his unit behind.

"We only had a month left, and I wanted to stay," he said. "If it would have happened earlier and maybe the situation was a little different, like I came home and they gave me the option to meet up with my buddies again later, I would have done it. It's unfortunate, because you go and train with these guys and you're practically brothers, and then you get shot right before the end of it. They were all just so great. They would jump off a bridge for you."

The Scout Service Camp at Fort Mackinac taught him many skills he has used in everyday life and in the marine Corps. Jim Lindsey, a scout leader for Troop 114, has known Mr. Henry since he first started scouting at 12.

"You see scouts as they progress from all the new learning experiences that they go through," Mr. Lindsey said. "Some of those experiences happen during the hiking and camping trips. On the way out there, for a three- to six-day trip, they are full of questions, and then about half way through, all of a sudden, you see a change in them and they realize they can do it. On the way back, you have three more days to talk to them, and it's almost as if they've matured a couple years. That's one of the neat experiences, taking scouts like Nick out there while he was growing up. Seeing him progress, develop skills, work with other kids, and gain leadership skills is truly incredible. He's learned and continues to learn life lessons while being a part of the scouts program."

When Nick Henry refused to sit at home after a tough 18 months overseas, Mr. Lindsey was not surprised.

"You find this with many of our men that get injured," Mr. Lindsey said. "They don't want to leave. They are part of a group, and that group relies on him just like he relies on them to get him out of there. He'd do the same for them what they did for him. It speaks very highly of his character. I don't know what road he is going to take in life, but I think he is going to be very successful in whatever one he does go down. He knows the scout oath, he's agreed to live by that and trust what comes from it. He will make a difference in a lot of young kid's lives. He's very wellliked and that will continue to show."

Mr. Henry serves in the reserves at Grand Rapids and plans to return in the fall to school at Ferris State University, where he will be a sophomore. In the meantime, he enjoys his three favorite hobbies, soccer, paintball, and working on his neighbor's farm.

Fourteen scout groups serve as the honor guard at the Scout Barracks near Fort Mackinac each summer, seven Boy Scouts and seven Girl Scouts.

"The best thing I could say about the Scout Service Camp is that it is focused on service, and that carries through to Mackinac and their experience on the Island," said Katie Cederholm, Mackinac State Historic Parks' curator of education. "The camp is a very enriching part of that scouting experience."

Mr. Henry's story influences the scouts in a positive way. Just the idea that someone who was once a scout at their age has gone and put all of the learning experiences to good use just a few years later is unbelievable, Miss Cederholm said.

"These boys up here have that certain connection to him, because they can do something like this," she said. "It is an honor to serve as the governor's honor guard. Whether they served with him at the barracks or not, they can connect, because they've had this amazing experience. They have a specific reason for being here: Partaking in life experiences. They're learning things like being away from home, serving others, responsibility and flexibility, and they're doing it all for the big picture, for Mackinac Island and the state of Michigan, and for the United States, overall. It's the next level of service that he provided, and it's rubbing off on all the scouts."